Shrimps in Garlic Oil--to Eat or Not to Eat

This dish is one of the first ones I made when I started this blog. I was not sure at that time what to post, so I cooked almost everything that came to mind. And I did this one even though I am not a big fan of shrimps. I cooked it, tried, and wrote down the proportions, hoping that someone may enjoy it. Good shrimps and scallops are very popular among the seafood lovers.

This recipe has been awaiting its turn for almost a year and since I have been recently very busy with finishing my new deck and outdoor kitchen and, ironically, I have been cooking less than usual, I decided to post this recipe now. It is another very easy dish that is ready in three minutes. I post it also because I like these pictures of the shrimps, perhaps more than I like to eat them.

Besides the good quality and fresh shrimps this dish is based on a very high quality olive oil, with a lot of garlic and piri piri that I had trouble to buy, so replaced it with chili peppers. Those who like shrimps and tried them prepared this way liked this dish very much. And half of the pleasure eating that dish comes from soaking a piece of baguette in the leftover oil and enjoying it with a glass of Spanish red wine.

Spicy Shrimps in Garlic

Ingredients:
1 lb raw jumbo shrimps without shells,
1/2 head of garlic,
juice from half a lemon,
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil,
a couple of dried chili papers, or more depending on how spicy you want it to be.

Preparation:
1. Peel off garlic, squeeze lightly with a knife and chop. It is important not to crush it entirely but to chop it thoroughly.
2. Heat the oil, add garlic, and fry for 2-3 minutes, until it becomes gold.
3. Add lemon juice and chili peppers.
4. Add the shrimps, stir them in oil, and cook for 2 minutes until they turn pink.
5. Put the dish on a serving plate and serve with a fresh baguette.

Crispy Artichoke Roulade--A Wine Party Snack

After months of sabotaging me, my laptop caught on fire last week. Apparently, two years too late I have learned that it is a common problem with that model to the point that the company even sells the wire that usually breaks down. (I do not know why they just don't fix the problem themselves). If you think about buying a laptop for yourself or as a Xmas gift for someone you like or love, I have to warn you that it was a Toshiba, and my disappointment can be reversed only if they offer me a new laptop, which I don't think is going to happen.

As a result of that accident I have been incapacitated for a few days and I feel completely uninspired and powerless, because I have never realized how my creativity, inspiration, and everything else was facilitated by that small gadget. I hate the other big fancy computer I have to use now, and can't wait to find out if my little laptop is fixable. Meanwhile, I am just struggling to write anything, in particular something revealing. But since I was at a big party last night, and there are a few more ahead, maybe another party idea would be useful, especially with the New Year festivities approaching.

This is one of those simple snacks that do not take much but make a huge difference, especially if peanuts or a bag of chips are the alternative. I made some shortcuts while preparing it, which is buying puff pastry instead of making it myself (uncharacteristically, the one I bought was as good as a home-made one) and using easily available and canned ingredients. This recipe can be an inspiration for trying different fillings that you have handy, such as sun-dried tomatoes or mushrooms.

Artichoke Roulade

Ingredients:
1 pack of puff pastry (two sheets), thawed,
1 can artichoke hearts,
1 bag baby spinach, about 6 oz,
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese,
2 tbsp butter,
1 egg,
salt and pepper.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Heat the butter in a medium skillet and fry the onion in it for about 3 minutes, or until soft.
3. Add spinach to the onion and let it cook until it softens and releases water; let the water evaporate and continue to cook until the leaves become dark green.
4. Take the skillet from the heat, cool, and add chopped artichokes.
5. Add Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper.
6. Unfold sheets of pastry and top each with a half of the filling.

7. Roll up each piece and brush with beaten egg.

8.Cut the pastry diagonally and place it on a greased baking tin, one inch apart. Bake for 15-20 min, or until gold.

Serve as a snack while still warm,or cold.

Spicy Pecan Cookies--Something out of Nothing

Last Friday I attended an exhibition of South African bead jewelery and met several South African ladies. Talking to them brought back to me the memory of the friend whom I met in Switzerland. She was born in Portugal, but spent most of her life in South Africa. I must admit that she had a huge influence on my culinary education to the point that I could call her my culinary mentor. Some of the best dishes I still cook today come from her personal cookbook. Many of them come from Portugal, where she spent her summers, others come from several other countries she lived in.

I watched and admired her when, with a little bit of touch and nice presentation, she was able to arrange a tea event, or a nice lunch, often out of nothing. She taught me many good host's do's and don'ts that I try to follow every time I have any guest in my house. On top of all that she was also the one who introduced me to a wonderful South African wines, especially from Stellenbosch or Nederburg. I still like to serve it to my guests if I can only buy it here.

Unfortunately, I have lost touch with her, but I hope to reconnect again one day. I am sure she would be very proud of me writing this blog (especially in English). Thinking about one of the Romy's golden rules not to waste any food, I came with an idea of making spicy cookies, from an old and dry piece of blue cheese that got lost in my refrigerator. The inspiration came from the well known nut cookies. I used some pecans that I always associate with Thanksgiving pies, and I just added cheese, salt, and a little bit of rosemary to turn them into wine accompaniments. Here is my experiment.

Spicy Pecan Cookies

Ingredients:
1 stick butter,
1 cup flour,
1 tsp salt,
1 cup minced pecan nuts.
coarse sea salt,
a brunch of rosemary.
about 4 oz of blue cheese, but I am sure that any will do, for example, Parmesan or Cheddar.

Preparation:
1. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and working with hands make first crumbs which as you work will turn into a dough.
2. Form a dough into a log, wrap in the food foil, and chill for half an hour.
3. Heat oven to 375 F.
3. Cut a cold dough into a quarter inch thick slices and arrange on a baking tin greased with butter.

4. Spread salt and rosemary on top and bake for about 20 minutes.

Serve cold on small plates, as they are very short. They taste particularly well with a glass of red wine (especially a good Nederburg).

Party Ideas--Delicious Icebreakers

In our neighborhood Drinks in the Driveway are a well-established tradition. Weather permitting, we meet once or twice a month, every time in front of a different house, to share a bottle of wine, meet people from the neighborhood, and have a relaxing chat.

It is a little bit too early in the afternoon for my schedule, so I am not able to attend that event often, but I love the idea, which truly shows how open the Americans are. When I think about the countries I lived in, I do not think it would have been possible in England or Switzerland, and even less so in Poland.

But why not to apply this revealing idea into your lifestyle? Just invite some friends and neighbors that you wish to know closer for drinks, make some snacks, and spend a nice evening, chatting with them and getting to know better the people you meet in the elevator, or while collecting mail. It does not take much--a bottle of wine or two and half an hour in the kitchen--and they will be impressed not only with your private library, art collection, or the fashionable Italian sofa, but also with your hospitality and your culinary talent. And next time, encouraged by your success maybe they will host a similar event.

Here are some easy ideas to help you put quickly a few attractive snacks on the table. It would be great, if you are a passionate cook and tried to prepare all of them, but even one could be appreciated, as it is all about a kind gesture and creating good atmosphere. These recipes will also work for holiday parties and other informal social occasions.

Party Ideas

1. Prepare blue cheese and pear snacks.

2. Wrap bacon slices around mushroom tops and bake for 20-30 minutes.

3. Wrap stripes of Prosciutto over avocado and arugula pieces.

4. Using wooden picks attach prosciutto to figs.

5. Make some mushroom crostini.

6. Wrap cooked shrimps in bacon and bake until it becomes gold.

7. Serve a plate of good quality cheese with pears or figs jam and Marcona almonds.

Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Crispy Mushroom Crostini--Party Alternative to Crunchy Veggies

There is a one type of party food, besides chips, that I tend to ignore--a plate of raw vegetables and the white dip that accompanies them. And the arguments that carrots are good for your eyes, celery for your vitality, and broccoli for everything else do not convince me to move any closer in their direction. I love all those vegetables in any kind of dish, and I do eat them raw in salads, as I am huge veggies lover, but the idea of crunching them at a party, especially when a glass of wine is served, seems awkward to me. I do not come to a party to watch my diet, but to enjoy myself, or even indulge in foods that are not necessarily on my doctor's "must eat" list.

For that reason I am always happy to find a new recipe for a party snack, especially one that can make the party experience complete, even if you are hosting people just for drinks. A good party snack is a nice touch and it shows that you care. I often serve, with great success, blue cheese and pear snacks. Those tiny toasts do not require much preparation but are much more attractive and satisfying than chips and crunchy veggies.

This one is another such party idea, especially since wild mushrooms are now in season. I served it once to my guests as a dinner appetizer. From the whole dinner it was one of my friend's favorite part. On the way home he was raving about those snacks to my other friend, not to mention that he had at least twenty of them that night. As holiday party season approaches, I dedicate this recipe to those party organizers who would like to move beyond serving chips and crunchy veggies.

The original recipe calls for wild mushrooms, but since they are not so easily available in the United States, you can use white mushrooms, or a mix of white, shiitake, portobello, or any mushrooms you can buy.

Mushroom Crostini
(Adapted from Bon Appétit--serves 6-8 people)

Ingredients:
1 baguette cut into slices quarter inch thick,
2 tbsp butter,
2 tbsp olive oil,
3 shallots,
5 cups (about 12 oz) mushrooms,
2 garlic cloves,
1/4 cup table cream,
1/2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary,
1 cup grated Fontina cheese,
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan,
salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Chop shallots and saute on melted butter for about one minute.
3. Chop all the mushrooms and saute them for 6-8 minutes, until well cooked, almost brown.
4. Add crushed garlic and cook together for one minute.
5. Remove the pan from the heat and add rosemary, cream, salt, and pepper. Mix and let cool.
6. Add shredded Fontina and Parmesan.
7. Cover each piece of baguette with one tsp of mushrooms topping and place on a baking sheet slightly greased with oil.
8 Bake for 15-20 minutes, until crostini become gold and cheese is melting.

I have made a few modifications to the original recipe. I replaced the heavy whipping cream with table cream, to save some calories, skipped the lemon peel and bake the entire crostini at once, instead of baking first the baguette slice and later broiling them with the topping. They turned out to be perfectly crispy and strong in taste. A wonderful wine accompaniment.

Blue Cheese and Pear Snacks for Wine Lovers

A friend has been asking me for a long time to share this recipe but, to be honest, I have been very reluctant to do that. It is one of the dishes from my "all-time favorite" list and one that I often serve to my guests. Most of the people who try this snack love it and ask for the recipe, but sharing it with them makes it impossible to serve it next time I have them over, since they learn how to do that and often use that recipe themselves.

My close and a very candid friend, who took home and reproduced some of my culinary secrets asked once: "Please do not make that dish for us anymore. I have been cooking it so often that we are tired of it." That is the only downside of having a culinary blog and sharing it with people we know. But, the big upside of it has been that it makes me feel great to be able to influence other people's culinary habits.

So I quietly hope I can interest with this recipe my anonymous readers in Brazil, Canada, China, France, Indonesia, and Russia but not so much in Washington DC. Let's hope they are all on vacation.

This simple snack is excellent served before dinner, or just as a party snack in itself when we meet people for drinks and finger food. Since summer creates many opportunities for meeting friends and family in a very informal atmosphere, it is a perfect time to let others enjoy this dish, its taste and simplicity.

When you look at it, it seems that you can recognize all the ingredients, but in fact there is a hidden one, which people cannot distinguish and which makes these petite sandwiches taste mysterious. You should guess.

Blue Cheese and Pear Baguette Sandwiches

Ingredients:
1/2 baguette, a day-old baguette works the best,
1 soft pear,
1/2 pound of any hard blue cheese--it can be Bleu d'Auvergne or Stilton,
1/2 stick of butter,
1/2 cup of walnuts.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Cut the entire baguette in 1/4 inch thick slices and spread butter on them.
3. Peel off the pear, remove seeds and cut in quarters, then slice them across diagonally into thin slices.
4. Arrange the baguette on the baking tin buttered side up, and put a slice of pear on each piece.
5. Cover pear slices with slices of blue cheese and top with halves of walnuts.
6. Bake for that between 20-30 minutes, until cheese melts slightly, walnuts get roasted and the baguette turns gold.
7. Serve warm with wine.

This snack tastes wonderfully with red wine, but on a hot sunny evening it is goes particularly well with a glass of cold Vouvray or Sancerre.